Here's another section that will interest Sylvester (or anyone collecting British Isles & British Commonwealth coinage).It is about English hammered coins,which were struck at ecclesiastical mints.If you have such coins,then you are more than welcome to post here. I have got in my collection one such coin - a King Henry VIII (1509-47) 1/2 Groat (2d.),which was struck as part of the 2nd. Coinage at Canterbury under the authority of William Warham (who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1503 to 1532).This coin has the Cross Patonce mintmark & the mintname, 'CIVITAS CANTOR'.My boss who is a coin dealer bought this in a collection off another dealer nearly 8 years ago.He was going to take this coin back to get his money back,as it has a small hole in it.I said to my boss,"John,you'd be a fool to take this coin back.It is a good coin struck at Canterbury under one of the Archbishops of Canterbury."He reluctantly agreed with me.I ended up getting this coin as payment,& as a spacefiller in my collection. This coin is a historic one,as the English Reformation did away with the privilege of the Archbishops of Cantebury & York issuing coinage on behalf of the King. Aidan.
You should add some images of your coins to your posts Aidan so that we can see what has inspired you to write. (holes, dings, bends, chips, warts and all)
It wasn't just that, that did it. The king was the only one in the country that had the right to coin money. True he gave rights to the Eccesiastical mints to coin money on his behalf but the money was still his. Cardinal Wolsey (of the York Diocese) however took advantage and had his initials placed upon the reverse on the coinage at the sides of the shield, T. W. The king found out and Wolsey was in alot of trouble as it was a usurpation of the king's authority. No doubt this helped with the decline in the Ecclesiastical mints.
People from York are just troublemakers..hehe My Henry VIII groat has no TW on it and Henry looks very young,not the big fat guy we're all used to seeing.It is from 1526,second coinage?? I have no idea what that means..can one of you guys elaborate? Aidan,please post a pic of your holey coin..
I am sorry,I don't have a digital camera,or a computer.In fact,I have to borrow a computer,especially one in an Internet cafe. Aidan.
Oops! Looks like I need to change yet another label.It seems that the word ADJVTOREMMEUM is actually abbreviated on this coin (ADJVTOREMEU?),unlike Elizabeth's.Anyone know the actual inscription?Also POSIVIDEV(M?) should be POSVIDEV(M?) Is that correct?
I don't have my references at hand immediately so i'll have to get back to you on this one. What i can tell you though is that hammered coinages are generally referred to either by classes or by coinages. Henry VIII's earliest coins were ones with Henry VII's portrait on the obverse (i can't remember if this is the first coinage though, or whether it's Henry VII's posthumous issue). Henry VIII's third coinage was the debased issue. Henry VIII was young once you know, it helps to think of him as a rugby player (according to David Starkey), when he was young he was alot more agile, yes he had a big frame even then, but it was more like a rugby player, more muscle and such rasther than anything else. Afterall he spent alot of time jousting and training in war combat. He and his contemporary in France Francis I considered themselves renaissance kings, cultured, athletic, patrons of the arts. But like so many rugby players, alot of eating and alcohol led to the athletic king turning into a big fat mess that had to be moved around with cranes by the end. 1526 is a fairly good year too, it was probably the last year of medieval England, for 1527 saw the divorce issue and the eventual Break with Rome and consequently the Reformation and all the nastiness that followed it from 1540 to 1560.
Here's 3 links that will help you in identifying your English ecclesiastical mint coins; Archbishops of Canterbury; www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/office/success.html . Bishops of York; www.bishopthorpepalace.co.uk/bishopsofyork.html . Bishops of Durham; www.dur.ac.uk/~dla0www/c_tour/lists.html#Bishops . I trust that these will help you. Aidan.
